friday favorites

Tomorrow morning is my third 5K and it’s in my hometown of Stars Hollow, so I’m heading to my parents’ house tonight to stay over. Way easier than waking up at, like, 5am to head straight there from Cleveland. Mentally there’s a lot wrapped up in this particular 5K, mostly due to location, but I’m excited to run it and will be talking about all of that in a guest post I’m doing for Mama Marchand next week.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been loving over the past week or two. Knowing me this is going to be a bit random, but that’s why it’s fun!

These Shoes

My feet have gone from a size 9 to a 7 1/2, so last week I headed over to DSW just to look and managed to come across the above shoes in the clearance section. Considering I’m mostly a Payless kinda girl, even the clearance section of DSW was a bit above my normal threshold, but I figured for a pair of gorgeous black pumps it was worth the splurge.

This Recipe

Over the weekend I made a Weight Watchers Mac & Cheese recipe but as I was planning my dinner for Saturday night I realized it needed something else on the side. Then I remembered this recipe for Cauliflower Buffalo Bites I had pinned ages ago and I just so happened to have some cauliflower in my fridge. Based on the comments I reduced the amount of hot sauce and added a touch of honey (thus negating them as vegan), and they were soooo yummy. Definitely will be made again.

This TV Show

Ummmmmmmmm. Can someone please explain to me why no one has ever before sat me down and forced me to watch Doctor Who? It is sci-fi/fantasy genius at its finest and I am officially addicted, as anyone who is friends with me on FB knows as I won’t shut up about it. I’m only on the second season but I am already in love with David Tennant and can see why so many people claim he’s their favorite Doctor.

This Picture

I swear Chloe is an absolute sweetheart in person, but it always kills me that she looks so pissed off in so many of her pictures.

This Tweet

Ohmygoddess, you guys. Like, there are no words for this. It’s not my first virtual brush with celebrity, but it means oh so much more. Ms. Atwood is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite author. She is the type of writer that makes me want to write. As my friend Micah said, This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Word, dear fellow. Word.

This Outfit

On Wednesday, Career Services held a Career Fair for the students and it included a fashion show for interview outfits borrowed from Clothes Mentor, which is a local consignment store. The fashion show left me inspired, for no other reason than I really needed new pants. Plus I want to work on updating my wardrobe, which is a little more on the side of business casual than I like. Everyone else around me dresses super professional and I feel like I’m lacking, but mostly because tailored clothes never felt comfortable at 311 pounds. Now they do. And Clothes Mentor is fucking awesome. Not only can you sell clothes (which I have with some of my too big items) but you can buy really great clothes there, too. I’m talking name brand, quality stuff. The tag near my neck? The original tag on the shirt. It still has the original tags on it. Me? I paid $9 for it. Uh, hello. Let me put it this way: for about the same cost as those clearance DSW shoes, I was able to buy two pairs of pants, two work blouses, and a dress. Luckily, my new shoes can be worn with everything.

This Comparison

Every year, Weight Watchers has their Celebrate Success contest and I’m entering! The fact that the contest was announced just a few hours after I hit the 100 pounds mark seems like serendipity to me. The entry requires a 400 word essay, which I’ve already written, along with before & after photos. This weekend when I’m at my parents I’m going to see if I can find a photo from the same “before” event above that shows more of my full body (I care most of my weight in my hips and waist), but if not I think I have my photos. Over the past week I’ve had co-workers take other “after” pictures of me, but I’m not as happy with them as this one I took myself in the mirror of a dressing room.

This Tattoo

Yes, ladies & gents, I’ve been inked up. Last Saturday I headed over to VooDoo Monkey in Ohio City to get my 100 pound reward tattoo. Only took about 30 minutes and didn’t hurt too much, save the h and t as they went up a bit higher on my back. To say I’m in love with it is a bit of an understatement. I simply adore everything about this tattoo: the size and location are perfect and I’m so happy with the font I chose. For those that missed the explanation, shanti means “peace” in sanskrit and it is repeated three times at the end of the closing Ashtanga yoga chat. This single word has come to represent so much about this journey and the past few years and it was the perfect choice for this tattoo.

What are some of the things you’ve been loving recently? If you don’t follow me on Instagram (JillGrun), you should start!

I know! I have never wanted to really dress super professional before, but now that I have found a really affordable way to do it AND I'm comfortable in the clothes, I'm in love. I wore the other top/pants that I bought yesterday and all my coworkers were astonished at what I paid for it at the consignment store, the clothes look brand new.

Great new outfit and it looks like, according to FB, the 5K went well…congratulations! Right now I am loving hand sanitizer, DayQuil, and hot tea because the back-to-school germs are already leaving me about to hack up a lung. 😉